Essay Contest

The Hellenic American Union is committed to supporting Foreign Language Schools in their efforts to provide their students with the best possible foreign-language education. As part of this commitment, since 2008, the Hellenic American Union has been organizing an Essay Contest among Foreign Language School students who are preparing for the University of Michigan Examination for the Certificate of Competency in English (ECCE).

The Essay Contest is a creative learning event that is held annually. Through their schools, students are invited to use specially created materials that provide practice in all four language skills and to produce ECCE-format essays on the same topic that are forwarded to the Hellenic American Union. There, a Rating Committee selects a number of finalists who, along with a parent or legal guardian, come to Athens for a weekend as guests of the Hellenic American Union to participate in the final writing event. For this event, all finalists are given a new topic on which they write an original essay. All finalists receive prizes; the one who has written the best essay wins the grand prize.

Why participate

Through the Essay Contest the Hellenic American Union aims to help students develop their writing skills and provide teachers with an additional teaching tool for their students’ preparation for the University of Michigan Examination for the Certificate of Competency in English (ECCE).

The Hellenic American Union Essay Contest is geared to students of English who are approaching a B2 level. Through the essay contest the Hellenic American Union aims to:

help students develop their writing skills

help students express their ideas creatively in a learning context

provide teachers of English with an additional teaching tool that will enhance their students’ knowledge of the English language

help candidates prepare for the University of Michigan Examination for the Certificate of Competency in English (ECCE)

raise awareness of cultural, social and environmental issues of national and global concern